Hospital serving tray



June 23, 1959 H. W. PETERS HOSPITAL SERVING TRAY Filed Dec. 10, 1956 INVENTOR.

2,891,695 Patented June 23, 1959 HOSPITAL SERVING TRAY Herbert W.Peters, Brookfield, Wis. Application December 10, 1956, Serial No.627,185 4 Claims. (Cl. 220-97) The present invention relates in generalto improvements in the art of serving individual means to indigentpersons, and it relates more specifically to improvements in servingtrays for use in hospitals or the like.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved mealserving tray especially adapted for use in serving indigent persons, andwhich is simple and durable in construction While also being capable ofconvenient special handling.

Some of the more important specific objects of the invention are asfollows:

To provide an improved serving tray especially adapted for use in placeswhere a number of bed-ridden individuals must be periodically servedeach with special menus, and wherein the character of each meal and theidentity of each person to be served is precisely displayed on eachtray.

To provide an improved serving tray in which the dishes and thecommodity resting thereon, are effectively protected against undesirabledisplacement and spillage.

To provide an improved tray structure having an upstanding relativelyfrail rear wall, and which is adapted to be compactly stacked with othersimilar structures in a manner whereby the rear walls are effectivelyprotected against breakage.

To provide an improved serving tray unit having a brim and a wall risingfrom one section of the brim and provided with a meal and personidentification card retainer formed to permit individual identificationfrom both the front and rear of the wall.

To provide an improved tray provided with means for facilitating safegripping and holding while the tray is being carried from place toplace.

To provide an improved serving tray adapted to be compactly nested withother similar trays in a manner whereby the adjoining trays interlockbut are readily separable.

To provide an improved serving tray of relatively light but strongconstruction which can be readily manufactured at moderate cost topresent a highly aesthetic appearance.

These and other more specific objects and advantages of the inventionwill be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the features constituting the present improvement,and of the construction and usage of a typical commercial hospitalserving tray embodying the invention, may be had by referring to thedrawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification whereinlike reference characters designate the same or similar parts in thevarious views.

Fig. 1 is a top, front and side perspective view of one of the improvedserving trays;

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view of the tray;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the same tray;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section through the tray taken alongthe line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and showing one of the identifying cardsapplied;

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section through several of the trays,taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, and illustrating the relativepositions thereof when nested or stacked;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of several of the trays stacked as inFig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section through the adjacent cornersof a pair of the stacked trays, taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6, andshowing the interlock.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as having beenembodied in meal serving trays especially adapted for hospital use, thevarious improvements may also be advantageously applicable to servingtrays for other uses; and it is contemplated that specific descriptiveterms employed herein be given the broadest possible interpretationconsistent with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawing, the improved hospital meal serving traydisclosed therein, comprises in general a relatively flat substantiallyrectangular base 9 having an upwardly directed brim 10 extending alongits front and opposite sides, and also having a forwardly inclinedrelatively thin rear wall 11 rising to a considerable height above thebrim 10 at the rear edge portion 12 of the base 9. The base 9, brim 10and wall 11 are preferably formed integral with each other to provide aunitary structure which may be constructed of any suitable durablematerial such as plastic, metal, wood or other substance.

The medial portion of the rear wall 11 is provided with an upper recess14 and with downwardly and inwardly inclined front grooves 15 onopposite sides of the recess 14, while the opposite ends of this wall 11have integral forwardly projecting fins 16 which have thickened lowerend portions merging into the adjacent portions of the side brims 10,see Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive. The lower edge 17 of the rear wall 11projects downwardly below the rear edge portion 12 of the base 9 andextends entirely across the tray to provide a gripping ledge, and theopposite ends of this ledge project forwardly beneath and are formedintegral with the adjacent brim ends and are provided with triangularinterlock notches 18 as shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7, and the action ofwhich will be subsequently explained.

In addition to the trays above described, the user should be providedwith the usual tray carrying cart having shelves or flanges forsupporting a number of the commodity laden trays in superimposedrelationship; and in order to clearly and accurately identify eachloaded tray as to the person for which it is intended the user shouldalso have a supply of identifying cards 20 such as depicted in Fig. 4.These cards 20 may be formed of paper and of trapezoidal shape so as tofit within the grooves 15 of the rear Wall 11; and each card has anumber 21 shown as No. 50, which identifies a particular patient to beserved, applied to each of its opposite sides at the zone of the wallrecess 14. Each card 20 may also be provided with menu identifyingindicia on one face designating the particular meal to be served theperson bearing the number 21 appearing on the same card.

When the improved trays have been properly constructed as abovedescribed, their normal use in a hospital or the like is as follows.When a particular patient is to be served a card 20 hearing thedesignating number 21 of that patient should be filled out to includethe identification of the tray contents and applied to the grooves 15 ofthe tray Wall 11, whereupon the tray may be loaded in accordance withthe schedule on the card and the loaded tray may be carted to itsdestination and presented to the patient. The relative inclination ofthe grooves 15 facilitates rapid insertion of the card 20, and theapplication of the designating number 21 on both sides of the card 20 atthe recess 14 makes it easy to deliver the loaded tray to the correctpatient since at least one of these numbers is visible when the tray isviewed either from the front or rear, while the patient is also able toascertain the menu from the forwardly exposed face of the card 20.

After the commodity has been disbursed the tray may be cleared of dishesand the card 20 and cleaned, whereupon it together with other similartrays may be nested or stacked as in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 by supporting thelower tray in inclined position relative to the horizontal (indicated indot-and-dash lines) and piling other clean trays thereon. It isimportant to note that the lower ends of the fins 16 are thickened andmerge with thickened portions of the brim 10 in which the triangularnotches 18 are formed, thus vastly strengthening the trays at thesepoints, When the successive trays are thereafter piled or stacked uponeach other, the notches 18 of each super imposed tray interlock with thethickened lower portion of the fins 16 of the adjacent tray, and thusnot only prevent lateral shifting of the trays but also maintain theadjacent thin walls 11 and fins 16 out of direct contact with each otherand thus prevent possible breakage of these walls and fins, see Figs. 5,6 and 7.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction and use ofthe improved serving trays, it should. be apparent that the presentinvention in fact provides a simple and durable tray unit which can beefiectively utilized to serve meals with utmost accuracy and pre cision,and which can also be nested or stacked in cornpact condition togetherwith numerous other similar trays. The compact nesting is the directresult of the forward inclination of the rear walls 11 and the provisionof the notches 18 at each of the rear corners of the rectangular tray,as will be clearly apparent from Figs. 6 and 7. The forwardly inclinedrear wall also serves to confine the commodity upon the tray and toprevent dishes and food from tumbling over the rear of the tray, andthis wall also serves as a simple means for permitting the cards 20 tobe applied or removed from the tray.

'1 he identification cards are also formed so that they can be readilyinserted or removed from the grooves 15, while the recess provides ameans for visibly applying the identification numbers 21 to the oppositesides of the curd and for facilitating removal of the latter. Thesecards can be filled out by the dietician so as to insure proper feedingof each individual patient, and the tops of the cards 20 are preferablydisposed flush with the upper edge of the wall 11 when the cards areapplied to the grooves 15. The fins 16 of the rear walls 11 also tend tostiffen these walls, and the thickening of the lower portions of thesefins and of the adjacent portions of the rims 1%, enables the trays toresist excessive pressure when a large number of the trays are stackedupon each .er. The invention has proven highly satisfactory andsuccessful especially for use in connection with hospital Sl"/- ing tr.nd by utilizing suitable materials in the corn strucliou of the traysthe weight thereof can be reduced to ll minimum without sacrificingstrength. The trays can be produced in various sizes and shapes fordiverse purposes, but the provision of the forwardly inclined rear wallis an important feature of the invention.

it should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction or to recise mode of use of thehospital serving tray here-- n shown and described, for variousmodifications within the scope of the appended claims may occur topersons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. in a unitary serving tray adapted to be stacked in forwardly andupwardly inclined and nested condition upon a similar tray, anapproximately rectangular fiat base having an integral brim extendingupwardly along its front and opposite sides and also having a flatintegral rear wall rising considerably above and inclined toward thebase and provided with integral opposite end fins curving forwardlytherefrom partially over but depending below the adjacent side brimportions, the part of each fin which depends below its brim portionbeing notched upwardly to interlock with the edge portion of thecorresponding side fin directly above such brim portion of a similartray within which said tray is nested.

2. In a unitary serving tray adapted to be stacked in forwardly andupwardly inclined and nested condition upon a similar tray, anapproximately rectangular fiat base having an integral brim extendingupwardly along its front and opposite sides and also having a fiatintegral rear wall spaced from the back of but rising from the plane ofthe base considerably above and inclined forwardly, said wall beingprovided with integral opposite end fins projecting partially over butdepending below the adjacent side brim portions and the part of each finwhich depends below its brim portion being notched upwardly to interlockwith the edge portion of the corresponding side fin directly above suchbrim portion of a similar tray within which said tray is nested andstacked.

3. In a unitary serving tray adapted to be stacked in nested conditionupon a similar tray, an approximately rectangular flat base having anintegral upwardly extending and inclined brim along its front andopposite sides and also having a flat integral rear wall risingconsiderbly above the base and provided with integral opposite end finsprojecting forwardly partially over but depending below the adjacentside brim portions, the part of each fin which depends below its brimportion being notched upwardly to interlock with the edge portion of thecorresponding side fin directly above such brim portion of a similartray within which said tray is nested.

4. in a unitary serving tray adapted to be stacked in nested conditionupon a similar tray, an approximately rectangular fiat base having anintegral brim extending upwardly and outwardly along its front andopposite sides and also having a fiat integral rear wall rising from theplane of the base considerably above said brim to form a lower reargripping ledge and being provided with integral opposite end finscurving forwardly therefrom partially over but depending below theadjacent side brim portions, the part of each fin which depends belowits brim portion being notched upwardly to interlock with the edgeportion of the corresponding side fin directly above such brim portionof a similar tray within which said tray is nested in superimposedcondition.

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